Steam on PS3 will be accessed from within any Steam compatible game, such as Portal 2, by opening an overlay with a number of features, it has been announced.

The most talked about feature of Steam on PS3 is cross-platform play. Using an in-game Steam overlay, players will have access to their Steam friends, allowing them to chat, view friend profiles and send game invites to those playing on either Mac or PC directly from a console.

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Users who purchase the title on PS3 can also unlock a Steam Play copy of the game for PC and Mac by redeeming an in-box access code on their computer. Any pre-order DLC, and presumably future DLC, that is unlocked in one version of Portal 2 will subsequently unlock in the other Steam supported versions of the game. All trophies in the PS3 version will also unlock corresponding Steam achievements, though achievements earned in the PC or Mac version will not unlock the corresponding PS3 trophy.

The PS3 version of Portal 2 will also feature Steam Cloud support, allowing users to save their game to the cloud and resume on any other PS3 console by signing in to their PSN account. Steam Cloud saves are not transferable between the PS3 and PC or Mac, however, so it is not possible to begin a game on PS3 and resume it later on PC or Mac.

Portal 2 will be available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and Mac from April 19 in North America and April 21 in Europe, with the rumored possibility of an early release on Mac and PC.